Tabulating card dispensing carton



g- 1970 c. w. ROSENBURG, JR 3,522,878

TABULATING CARD DISPENSING CARTON Filed Dec. 24, 1968 United States Patent 3,522,878 TABULATING CARD DISPENSING CARTON Charles W. Rosenburg, In, North Tonawanda, N.Y., as-

signor, by mesne assignments, to F. N. Burt Company, Inc., Buffalo, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 24, 1968, Ser. No. 786,573 Int. Cl. B65d /72, 83/00 US. Cl. 20656 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dispenser carton for containing tabulating or other type cards wherein the carton is dimensioned slightly larger than the cards and an end flap is so dimensioned that it is capable of both acting as a closure panel for the carton and as a dispensing flap. In dispensing, the end flap is bent in a reverse direction and tucked under itself thereby providing an inclined retaining wall for the stack of cards and, at the same time, permitting removal of only one card at a time without disturbing the balance of the inclined pile.

This invention relates generally to dispenser cartons and more particularly to a carton for containing a plurality of stacked tabulating or other type cards which per- IIllltS dispensing of the cards, one at a time, from the container.

As an aid in dispensing drugs, many hospitals are finding it desirable to use computer punch cards for record keeping and other purposes. Other businesses are also finding it advantageous to install a computer for maintaining a comprehensive record of goods dispensed or sold. For example, a group of tabulating cards for this purpose are usually stored in a separate carton or packet within easy access to operator so that a single card of the group may be withdrawn from the packet for each of the goods to be dispensed. To this end, a dispenser carton has been designed to provide for easy storing or stacking of the computer tabulating cards, easy dispensing of the cards with each card dispensed individually, avoidance of mutilation or bending of the cards, easy identification of the serial and control numbers of the cards, and sufficient structural stress to permit reuse of the carton after all the cards have been dispensed therefrom.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a dispenser container or carton formed of a one-piece cutout blank and capable of being assembled into a durable and strong dispensing carton for dispensing cards therefrom one at a time.

Another object of the instant design is to provide a card container which will permit shipment of the cards as a packet and at the same time will permit easy withdrawal of the cards individually without the need of a separate container or dispenser.

A further object is to provide a dispenser carton of the type described wherein a hinged end flap is capable of closing the one open end of the carton and, after being reversely bent under itself, provides a retaining wall for the contained cards and permits them to be dispensed from the carton individually.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a carton of the character described having an opposite end flap which, when closing the opposite end of the car- 3,522,878 Patented Aug. 4, 1970 ton, does not interfere with the cards provided within the carton.

A still further object of the instant design is to provide a dispenser carton having a top wall, a bottom wall, side walls, end walls, and an outer panel all hinged together so that the outer panel may be doubled over the bottom wall and glued along one side thereof for providing an enclosed carton which is of a simple design, easy to stamp or cut out, and sufficiently durable to permit repeated use after an entire stack of cards has been removed.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a carton of the type described wherein the bottom wall has a hinged joint near one end wall so that its connected end wall flap may be reversely bent and tucked in between the bottom wall and outer panel so as to form an inclined retaining wall for removal of the stacked cards one at a time.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a carton of the character described wherein the other end wall may close the carton without interfering with the contents of the carton as its flap is tucked in between the bottom wall and outer panel.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of the dispenser carton, after the blank of FIG. 2 has been completely folded, containing a stack of cards showing the end Wall flaps as they are closed during shipment and handling of the carton,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the carton showing the cutout blank from which it is formed,

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 33 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the manner of reversely bending one of the end wall flaps for providing a retainer wall for the stacked cards,

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view, partly broken away, taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIG. 1 with the exception that the end wall flap is shown reversely bent and tucked under itself to provide a retaining wall for the cards,

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 7-7 of FIG. 1 except that the end wall flap is shown tucked under itself.

Turning now to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIG. 1 an assembled top or plan view of the dispenser carton 10 according to the invention. As can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2, the carton comprises substantially a top wall 111, side walls 12 hinged respectively along lines 13, an end wall 14 hinged to the top wall 11 at line 15 and having a flap 16 provided for closing the end wall 14 and being hinged thereto along line 117. A bottom wall panel 18 is hinged along line 19 to one of the side walls 12 and another end wall 21 for the carton is hinged to the bottom wall 18 along the line 22 for closing that end of the carton by means of a flap 23 hinged to the end wall 21 along line 24. Also, an outer panel 25 is hinged to the other of side walls 12 along line 26 and is provided with a glue line 27 along its free edge. In this way, the panels or walls 18 and 25 may be folded over top wall 11 and in contact with one another at hinge lines 13, 19 and 26, so as to form a box which is rectangular in cross-section, as clearly shown in FIG. 6, glued only along the glue strip 27. It should be noted that, the configuration of FIG. 7 may be easily arrived at by simply first folding bottom wall 18 over top wall 11 and thereafter folding outer panel 25 over bottom wall 18 whereupon attachment may be easily effected along glue line 27. It should be also noted that FIG. 1, after the blank of FIG. 2 has been completely folded, is a bottom plan view of the carton.

During shipping and while handling the dispenser carton 10, the carton must be capable of functioning as a container closed on all sides in a normal manner. Accordingly, end wall 21 may be closed by sliding its attached flap 23 in a manner shown clearly by FIG. 3 of the drawings. Of course, ear tabs 28 are hinged to opposite ends of the side walls 12 as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of which tabs 28 are normally folded inwardly before end wall 21 is closed.

When it becomes desirable to use the carton 10 for dispensing purposes, the user simply slides flap 23 away from the carton in the direction of the arrows shown in the FIG. 4. A thumb notch 29 is provided in top wall 11 to assist the user in withdrawing the flap 23. Referring again to FIG. 2, it will be seen that a hinge joint 31 is provided in the bottom wall 18 which joint extends from the free edge of the bottom wall toward side wall 12 and terminates a short distance therefrom at a slit 32. This slit allows a portion 33 of the bottom wall 18 to move independently about the hinged joint 31 thereby allowing end wall 21 and its attached flap 23 to also freely move about the joint 31. Accordingly, the end wall 21, now hinged at both 22 and 31, may be reversely bent so that its end flap 23 is tucked under portion 33 and above outer panel 25 thereby forming an inclined retaining wall for the cards C, as clearly shown in FIG. 5. In this manner, the flap 23 is folded to contact the bottom wall 18 so as to form a triangular tube therewith.

Because the glue strip 27 coacts along the length of bottom wall 18, that portion of flap 23 near the glue strip is inserted above the bottom wall portion 18 which extends between the hinge line 19 and the slit 32, as clearly shown in FIG. 7. In other words, the flap 23 is inserted into the slit 32 as it is reversely bent and tucked in beneath bottom wall portion 33. This is possible because portion 33 is raised out of the plane of bottom Wall 18 leaving the area between slit 32 and hinge 1 9 undisturbed during the reverse bending maneuver.

In order for the contents of carton 10 to be free from interference by the flap 16 when closing end wall 14, the outer panel 25 very conveniently provides an insertion pocket with the bottom wall 18. Accordingly, the flap 16 may be inserted within such a pocket (see FIG. formed between panel 25 and bottom wall 18 so that the cards C contained within the carton avoid possible mutilation during their initial insertion into the carton 10.

In order to strengthen the carton somewhat in the vicinity of flap 14 after repeated use of the carton as a dispenser unit, an end wall 35 is provided on bottom wall 18 hinged along the line 36 so that end wall 35 may be bent toward top wall 11 before the end wall 14 is closed by means of its attached flap 16.

In order for the flap 16 to avoid interference with that end of the glue strip 27 which extends near the hinge line 36, the flap 16 is notched at 34. Of course, ear tabs 28 are folded inwardly in the normal manner before end Wall 14 is closed.

From the foregoing, it can be clearly seen that a carton has been devised which is of simple construction and capable of being used as an ordinary container for a stack of cards while, at the same time, is convertible into a dispenser carton by merely withdrawing one of the end wall flaps, reversely bending it and its attached end wall, and tucking the flap beneath itself forming a tubular inclined retaining wall. The carton 10 may then be tipped in a slightly forward direction so that the cards are made to stack along the incline 33. Thereafter, the user merely withdraws a top card C from the carton through the notch 29 provided in the top wall 11. The retaining Wall or bottom wall portion 33 permits extraction of one card at a time from the carton 10 without interference by any portion of the inside of the carton.

Also, it can be seen from the above description that the end wall flap 16 is completely free of any contact with the cards C because it may be tucked between bottom wall 18 and the outer panel 25.

It is understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the illustrated embodiment of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the subjoined claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a carton for dispensing a stack of cards one at a time, a rectangular glued container having top and bottom walls, side walls hinged thereto, an end wall hinged to said bottom and top walls, respectively, at opposite ends thereof, said container being dimensioned larger than the contained cards, an end flap hinged to each of said end walls for closing the ends of said container, a hinged joint in said bottom wall near said hinged end wall, said bottom wall end flap capable of being bent from a closing position to a position reversely tucked under said bottom wall, whereby said bottom wall, between said hinged joint and said hinged end wall thereon, forms an inclined surface with the remainder of said bottom wall for allowing the cards to be stacked along said inclined surface thereby allowing only the top card of the stack to be dispensed from said container.

2. In the carton according to claim 1 wherein said top wall is notched near the hinged-joint end of said bottom wall for enabling the top card to be easily dispensed from said container.

3. In the carton according to claim 2 wherein said hinged-joint extends transversely across said bottom wall and terminates near one of said side walls, said inclined surface terminating at a slit near one of said side walls, whereby said bottom wall end flap may be tucked over said bottom wall between said slit and said one of said side walls.

4. In the carton according to claim 3 wherein said bottom wall between said slit and said one of said side walls terminates a short distance from said end wall thereby enabling easy insertion of said bottom wall end flap between said slit and said one of said side walls.

5. In the carton according to claim 4 wherein said container further comprises a means for permitting said top wall hinged end wall to be closed without its hinged flap interfering with the cards within said container.

6. In the carton according to claim 5 wherein said said closure means includes an exterior panel hinged to the other of said side walls and being glued to said bottom wall along the entire length of the free end of said panel.

7. In the carton according to claim 6 wherein said closure means further includes a second end wall hinged to the free end of said bottom wall, the height of said second end wall being equal to the height of each of said side walls.

8. In the carton according to claim 7 wherein said top wall end flap may be inserted between said panel and said bottom wall for closing said top wall hinged end wall, said top wall end flap terminating a short distance from said one side wall along its length thereby avoiding interference with said glued panel end.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Strattan 1336 XR Silvertrust 206-57 Abt 221305 Bogren 206*57 Novak 229-17 Hoffmaster et al. 20657 Doyle 20657 Doyle 20657 Elkner 20656 DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Primary Examiner Stephens 20657 10 2z1 305; 229 17 US. Cl. X.R. 

